Dead Marais
by rocketships-and-radios1
Summary: Cole's life couldn't get any worse with the Beast already in New Marais, and time would only tell when it would show up once again. Meanwhile, he has the ice men, the swamp freaks, the militia and the newly re-animated corpses to take care of. In Progress as of 25/04/14.
1. Chapter 1

Cole MacGrath scaled the rooftops of Flood Town, gliding across with the use of his static thrusters. A sudden plea for help nearby caught his attention - he located the source of the cry and jumped down off the rooftop next to a group of injured people laying on a rare patch of ground in the dead center of Flood Town. His hands were brilliant with electricity as he placed them on the chest of an injured man. "You'll be okay." Cole said, as the electrical pulse spread to the others, healing the entire group in the process.

"Thank you so much!" cried a woman of the formerly injured group, as stood upright.

"Don't mention it." Cole replied, preparing to take off onto the nearest rooftop, until a member of the group began to sway uneasily. Cole stopped himself just in time to catch him. "Woah, easy there. You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks... I - I just got a fever, that's all..." the man explained.

"I'll take him to a clinic, thanks for your help Cole." the woman intervened, smiling before guiding the sick man to the nearest medical clinic. Cole launched himself upwards by a mass of ice, then glided to the nearest rooftop, where he observed the sunset. The Beast was now in New Marais, surviving the nuclear attack. Surviving seemed like such an overstatement - more like using it as sustenance, and now it had just disappeared, and would turn up any moment, with two more blast cores still undiscovered. Time was precious. If only he could absorb time rather than electricity. No - more like, if only he never opened that package back in Empire City, then none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have had the burden of electricity coming out of his fingertips. He wouldn't have lost his old life. He wouldn't have lost Trish...

His thoughts were interrupted when Kuo's voice came through.

"Hey Cole, you there?"

"Yeah I'm here. What's up?"

"There's some really strange stuff going on. The clinics in Flood Town are full to the brim with sick patients."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's a damn plague spreading."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that there are reports of people attacking each other. Awful lot of gunfire from that area, too."

As if on que, Cole heard a series on gunshots right next to his building, and a series of panicked yelling. Immediately, he jumped to investigate.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Please be sure to drop a review, thanks!**

The silence of the swamps was almost eerie-like; its desolateness would normally provide comfort to any swamp dweller, but not to city folk. It was considered the perfect grounds for a "deviant execution zone".

"Move your ass deviant!"

The tranquility quickly disappeared. Four militia guys with a total of six hostages, or "deviants", entered. The hostages, an even mix of male and female, were rounded up against the wall of an abandoned cabin (due to the militia "sacrificing" its owner to a devourer) and were beaten severely for a little entertainment, then were forced to stand upright to the best of their ability.

"Die, freaks!" one of the guys yelled with a sadistic glee, before they fired into the hostages' stomachs, intentionally, just to watch the blood pour from their wheezing mouths, until they slumped to the ground, either dead or in the process of dying slowly, spluttering on their own blood. Together, the group cheered, high-fiving each other and firing their weapons into the air in celebration.

"God, I love killing." one of them commented, though it was evident.

A snarl from behind them caught their attention, and they slowly turned around. It was a deviant they had executed before, the bloody holes in his abdomen were still fresh.

"Well, looky here, we got ourselves a survivor." one of the guys commented, chuckling.

"Hey, look, there's another one!" another figure shambled from the shadows, her skin pale and the blood still fresh on her torn shirt. The militia had saved her for last, making sure to have their fun with her before they put her down.

"Looks like she came back for more, heh..." he guffawed.

One of them suddenly howled in pain, falling to the ground as one of the deviants they had just shot sank her teeth into his leg, his blood squirting on her pale face.

"Hey, Chuck, looks like she wants some too!" one of them laughed, as their fellow militia member howled in pain, kicking his attacker's face with his boot.

"You asshole, get the hell offa me!" he persisted, reaching for his rifle and firing a shot clean through her head. He clutched his bleeding leg, and used the bloody wall to support him.

"Son of a bitch..." he said, staring at his leg in shock.

"Aw, you need a band-aid?"

"You bastard, why'n't you help me out? Bertrand's gonna hear about this..." he yelled in fury, leaning against the wall.

"What? That you were dominated by some bitch?" one mocked.

"Fuck you!" Chuck yelled, aiming his rifle at the joker, but one of the surviving deviants they had spotted had just sank his teeth into his neck, tearing a strip off.

"Oh, shit!" one yelled, firing at the demon's head, but his accomplice was already long gone, having his jugular torn out. The other survivor lunged at one of the militia men, but he was quick to put her down.

"Oh Jesus, they got Bill..." one of them inquired, watching his friend choke on his blood.

"Behind you..." Chuck pointed to a group of at least two dozen more survivors, all of them shuffling and moaning. The four healthy militia men took off without a second thought, leaving Chuck dragging himself across the ground and running away from what looked to them like the Devil's minions. The group of walkers surrounded Chuck and devoured him, his bloodcurdling screams echoing across the swamps, before the eerie silence followed, the only sounds being the squelching and crunching of Chuck's flesh and bones.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**

**Guest: Thanks for your review, and in response to your question - no, no characters from either the TV series or video game will appear, since it is set in a different universe. **

**Remember to drop a review for this chapter if you have not done so, to let me know that people are enjoying this. Thanks! **

The streets of Ascension Parish were mainly desolate, considering the late hour, with the exception of a laid back trio of cops patrolling the vicinity.

Passing the cemetery, the unmistakable sound of a woman's shrieks of fear pierced through the cool air, alarming the trio, who approached the iron gates with an expeditious movement just as they had been trained to. The unquestionable scent of death engulfed them as they began their descent into the dead labyrinth, and followed sound of the incessant screams.

Soon enough, they arrived at the scene - a group of people, at least a dozen, their clothes filthy and ragged, some with a lack thereof, were hunched over something in the corner, near the body bags of those who had supposedly died from the plague. The only problem was that they were persistently wriggling around, like a butterfly hatching from its cocoon.

Although the pungent smell of death was sickening, the grotesque appearance of the lurkers was most terrifying - as one of the members of the feasting group acknowledged the presence of the agitated trio and shuffled towards them, so did the rest, displaying a mob mentality. The cops instinctively fired off several rounds, no warning shots, as the creatures descended upon them, who were completely unaffected by the bullets that penetrated their ice-cold flesh. Only one escaped the onslaught, running as far as his energy could take him, as the wails of agony from his former accomplices filled the air, but with the price of a large scar across his bare arm.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN**

**Guest: I could make the chapters longer, but it would result in less frequent chapters, as my exams are lurking around the corner, and I'll be done with them early June. I'm not talking about one month wait in between each chapter, more like a week, maybe two. Next chapter will be longer. Also, I was wondering if you could sign up for an account so it would make communication slightly easier? Anyway, thanks for the review! **

**Thanks to all reading, and please remember to drop a quick review!**

Cole jumped onto a made-do bridge, perfectly poised and balanced, then ran to the source of disturbance. He caught sight of a trio of cops firing at what looked to be an intoxicated militia guard, judging by his shambolic movement and lack of balance. The piercing pellets of their firearms were evidently of insufficient strength to neutralise the foe, so Cole composed himself, concentrating on the target's head and fired a precision bolt - the bolt effectively transfixed his target, striking his skull and causing him to limp to the ground. The cops sighed in relief, "Thanks, MacGrath." one of them called out. Cole heard more gunfire in the near distance, more than the customary amount.

"What's going on?" Cole asked.

"No idea, looks like a bunch of idiots getting drunk. Guess they think it's the end of the world, with that huge lava-monster rampant and the nuclear explosion."

"Yeah, I guess." Cole admitted, somewhat guiltily. "I'll let you get back to it." he said, conjuring a tether of lighting, and using it to swing to his designated location.


	5. Chapter 5

Cole was dreaming; it was merely a memory of the past, a time of which he yearned for. It was a laid-back Friday evening, Trish had her head affectionately tucked into Cole's shoulder, and his arm was on the couch head, supporting her. He registered the oh-so familiar warmth radiating from her body, something he dearly missed - his desire to embrace her was painful, but something prevented him from doing so, as if it were freezing him in place.

He jolted awake, realising the warm presence was actually Zeke, and they had just fallen asleep after treating themselves to generous amounts of beer. Returning to reality, he withdrew his arm from under Zeke's back, who simply shifted his position and fell yet again into a deep sleep without bother. Cole sauntered over to behind the ragged couch, and fired up the second Blast Core. Jolts of blue electricity emitted in every direction, but apparently were not vexatious enough to intrude on Zeke's pleasant slumber. Cole dropped unconscious to the floor and lay there for a while whilst thin wisps of grey wispy smoke rose from his limp form.

He was dreaming again, and it was during the time of the quarantine in Empire City, when the Reapers, and thugs, psychos and rioters were running loose, shooting up anything that flinched. All sorts of noise sounded from every direction, that of assault weapons, sidearms and screams of the innocent tearing through the air as they were caught in the crossfire of the many different factions of the Neon District. Something exploded, close. He felt the heat radiating from the explosion, but was powerless to do anything, unable to move, frozen in position, as the familiar redness of the Reapers closed in on him, firing at his exposed body... their unintelligible dialect disturbing his ears... he was in hell.

"Cole!" he heard his name called out. "Cole!" there it was again. It was Zeke. "COLE!"

He woke up, breathing and perspiring heavily, to come face to face with a distressed-looking Zeke with his six-shooter gripped tightly in his hand, which wasn't a common sight - he was usually composed and unflustered, though after Empire City, he seemed to have his priorities set right. Promptly, the smell of burning, gunpowder and death hit Cole like a firestorm.

"Zeke...what the hell's going on?" Cole asked, attempting to stand upright and maintain his balance.

"Hell if I know! It's a goddamn mess on the streets, we got police, rebels, militia, icemen all having at each other, even the civilians are gettin' involved, but they ain't normal..."

"What?" Cole asked in disbelief, though he didn't need Zeke to inform him about the chaotic situation - the sounds of gunfire, explosive bombardment and disorderly clamour would have perfectly revealed the true nature of the situation. Fires raged in the horizon, lighting up the 2am sky and casting a deadly blanket of smoke over Flood Town. Several helicopters were circling the vicinity, observing the widespread disorder.

"What in the hell..." Cole stated, standing near the edge of the roof and watching as, what seemed to be a civilian, ripping into a corpse, hauling out its flesh and messily hand-feeding them self in an attempt to consume it. Another joined in, and soon enough it became a feeding frenzy as more shambled from the shadows.

A militia truck collided with a structure on the street, crushing a Vermaak 88 Heavy in the process and exploding into a blazing inferno.

Across on the sidewalk, a couple of cops, one armed with a pistol, the other with a pump-action shotgun, fired repeatedly at a limping militia guardsmen, only for him to stumble backwards, then proceed with the same movement and eagerness to his targets. Eventually, he fell when his head exploded in a mass of crimson brain matter by the pump-action.

"This is Empire City all over again." Zeke remarked, loading his gun, then indiscriminately firing into the crowd of frenzied cannibals. Hearing the gunshot, they turned around which allowed the inferno of the militia truck to illuminate their blood-stained, yet pale faces. They moaned and shuffled towards Zeke and Cole's building, gazing up at them with their clouded eyes.

"They don't go down, unless you shoot them in the head..." Zeke stated, bemused. "I tried, man, everywhere - heart, lungs... even their damn balls, but... it's the head."

Cole jumped off the building, electricity swelling in his legs, then crashed to the ground, sending the walkers flying backwards with a shock wave of electricity. Cole pulled out his amp, channeling his electricity through its metal framework and maintaining a defensive stance as the shambling figures regained their mobility. He took a moment to observe them, grimacing at their freculant, putrid and sickening appearance, then swung his amp with a degree of desperation, as a sense of fear gripped his spine. As he swung his amp at the creatures, Cole's electricity and strength combined, and disintegrated the creatures' skulls into fragments of bloody matter. "Jesus Christ..." he said, watching as dozens more appeared from the alleys, a handful pouncing on a Vermaak Ice Soldier, managing to penetrate his armour and drawing some blood - or a liquid that passed as blood.

"Forget about them man..." Zeke called out, "Get up here and we can figure out something to do." Cole obeyed, jumping up on the rooftop.

"We gotta call Kuo, Nix Laroche... anyone."

"No shit."

Cole tried for Kuo, but there was no signal available for the call to go through.

"Nothing... it didn't even dial." Cole commented, pacing around in frustration and panic. Zeke sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

The TV suddenly sprung to life and played the unmistakable sound of the Emergency alert system.

"This is the New Marais Emergency broadcast." it said in a calm, male voice, repeating three times.

"I thought Bertrand controlled the broadcast system?" Cole remarked. Zeke shrugged, rushing over to the screen and increasing the volume to drain out the ambient commotion.

"My friends," Bertrand's voice abruptly came through the speakers, confirming his suspicion, causing Cole to growl in anger, "our fair city now faces a new threat - as God almighty warned us, Satan has resurrected the dead, who wander around and do nothing but feast on the living. This resurrection is punishment, for the sins of no one other than the one and only, Cole MacGrath, who used his demonic powers to destroy Empire City, and now he will not rest until New Marais faces the same outcome. Our fine, young gentlemen, the Militia, will fight to protect this town, and cast the evil out of New Marais once and for all!"

Cole and Zeke stared at the TV, mouths wide open in shock.

"No freakin' way..." Zeke said.

A haze of ice-blue cystaline air sweeped past the duo, which subsequently joined together and shaped into Kuo, whose facial expression comprised a look of terror.

"Kuo!" Cole exclaimed, approaching her and placing his hands on her ice-cold arms re-reassuringly.

"Cole..."

"I tried calling you, but nothing would go through... please tell me you've seen Nix, Laroche..." Kuo shook her head, her limps trembling.

"No... I'm sorry. I saw all of this happening, those... things eating people, and I came here straight away."

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Zeke asked.

"This is unlike anything I've ever seen; the dead returning to life. It really does sound like something... Biblical, for lack of a better word." explained Kuo, beginning to compose herself.

"You think Bertrand did this? I mean, he was about to send cargo ships full of the monsters he's created all over the world, it makes sense that he'd pull off something crazy like this." Cole suggested.

"Look, Bertrand is capable of creating of creating the swamp monsters and forced conduits, we all know it, Cole and I have witnessed it firsthand - but bringing the dead back to life? I don't think so. He'd leave that business to the almighty."

"Well, whatever the hell happened, we know that he's gonna take advantage of it and use it to take control of the city again. We can't let that happen." Zeke asserted.

"You're right. We need to head over to Ville Cochon - Laroche's hideout is there, the police already control it, and the crime rate isn't so high, so it's our best bet."

"What about Nix?" Cole asked, concerned.

"Cole, I've seen her in action, I'm sure she can take care of her own. We'll set up some safe zones, light some flares and soon enough she'll come find us."

"Alright. So how do we get there? The streets aren't safe, especially for you, Zeke." Cole said, and soon the commotion became more noticeable, with a large fiery explosion appearing from what looked like the Train Yard, though it was difficult to tell.

"One of those choppers must be one of ours, right?" Zeke asked, gesturing to the air space.

"Maybe - the police and the rebels sure did make use of the Militia's arsenal after they were driven out of Cochon Ville and Ascension Parish, therefore, there's a good bet at least one is friendly, and they'll take Zeke." explained Kuo, a glimmer of hope sparking inside of her. "If we can signal them with something..."

"Already one step ahead of you." Zeke said, opening a red container and producing a set of flares. "I 'borrowed' them from my Militia buddies when I was undercover. They used it to distract the swamp monsters so they could kill them easier."

"Good work, Zeke, I'll get this stuff out of the way to make landing easier." Cole said, using his kinetic pulse to lift the furniture and place it in the corner, whilst Zeke and Kuo lit the flares.

"Here, you hold these," Kuo handed a couple of red flares to Cole, "my ice will probably freeze them." He jumped to a higher location and waved the flares frantically, whilst Zeke held them up as high as his arms would allow.

"Do you think they'll be able to tell the flares apart from all of the fires?" Kuo raised.

"They damn well better be able to." Zeke replied, waving the flares more aggressively.

Suddenly, a figure leaped onto the rooftop with a thud, releasing a deafening shriek and outstretching its lobster-claw like arms.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Cole said, dropping the flares and pulling out his Amp.

"Damn it! Shoulda seen this coming." Zeke said despondently, equipping his weapon and looking out for others, as Cole thwacked the Swamp Monster off the roof, and into a voracious crowd of the undead who tore it apart.

"Alright, here's how it's gonna work - Zeke, you keep trying to signal a chopper, Kuo and I will fight off anything else that comes up here."

"On it." Zeke answered, climbing to a higher vantage point. Kuo stood alongside Cole, maintaining a vigilant bearing just like she did when she performed task for the NSA.

The familiar screeching off the Swamp Monsters echoed from numerous directions, and the pair circled on the spot, prepared to attack. One jumped onto the roof and leaped towards Cole, who forcefully sent them backwards with a powerful shock wave and presumably into the ever-growing, esurient crowd of the undead.

"Cole, up on the buildings!" Kuo pointed ahead, as several swamp monsters scaled rooftops of the adjacent buildings. Cole launched a projectile of electricity in their direction, then used a single bolt of lightning to tag one of the Swamp Monsters which the rocket subsequently guided itself to, and exploded with a powerful discharge of energy, neutralising a few but leaving a couple of them still standing. Instantly, Kuo directed shots of ice towards them, which slowed down their movement and enclosed them within a force field of ice. "Cole, now!" she yelled; Cole shot a couple of bolts at the ice trap and suppressed them.

"We've got one headed this way!" Zeke cheered, sliding down from the height and landing harshly on the roof. A light-coloured news helicopter approached the rooftop, hovering slightly above them.

"MacGrath?" Laroche's voice played through the megaphones.

"Laroche?" Cole yelled in reply over the helicopter engine.

"Great to see you're alive! Jump on before the rest of the swamp freaks get here!"

"I'll meet you there." Kuo said, vanishing immediately, leaving behind only thin trails of icy-mist. Cole grabbed onto Zeke's arm and summoned a lightning tether, grappling to the helicopter's landing skids, "Hang on tight." Cole said, alarming Zeke. "What?" he asked with wide-eyes, before he was lifted off the ground, yelling in fear. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." he cried, clinging on to Cole's hand, who was securely attached to the landing skids, as the helicopter ascended above the polluted air of Flood Town. Dozens of Swamp Monsters rowdily jumped onto the roof and stood around the flares, staring in fascination, as the large undead horde at the base of the building consumed those who were unfortunate enough to have fallen within their reach. As they left the district, Cole observed the destruction - fires consumed any area which wasn't submerged and there were frequent flashes of orange light from gunfire and explosions, lighting up the night sky. He hoped that Cochon Ville was safe, and that Nix and Kuo were already there.


	6. Chapter 6

On the Ville Cochon side of the bridge, the flashing bright red and blue lights of the cop cars were coruscating, illuminating the night sky, but this was simply a beacon to the undead swarms in Flood Town.

Teams of cops were sent to blockade the bridge, prior to advancing towards Flood Town to assist with the insidiously fierce riots that surged through the district, but they were met with an enemy that survived the bullet barrage that they had been ordered to perform on any hostile individuals - instead of falling limp and lifeless to the ground, they advanced, ruthless and growling, with a dark, dense liquid that emanated from their wounds slathering on the tarmac below them. Only few cops managed to achieve a head shot, which was evidently the only means of neutralising them. However, the remnants eagerly dragged themselves ahead, in pursuit of the retreating cops.

The front line of cops at the barricade readied their weapons and maintained their formations, ready to open fire.

"Sweet Jesus, what the hell are those things?" one of them asked, gawping at the crazed mob of shambling, gore-masked, former-humans.

"They look.. demonic" one commented, fear gripping his spine and screaming danger.

"Can't get a clear shot, tell them to hurry the hell up!" another yelled with growing disquietude, frantically switching the target that he had acquired in his sights, trying to avoid friendly fire on the retreating squad.

A sudden, ear-splitting explosion sent them stumbling into the hard concrete, disturbing the formation of the roadblock.

"New Marais is ours!" a voice with a deep-southern accent belligerently yelled, and soon followed an outbreak of gunfire as a team of Militia proceeded up the street protected by riot shields and reinforced by a couple of rocket-launchers on the roofs. The cops that weren't mortally injured took cover behind the remains of the blockade and unsystematically returned fire, disorientated by the spates of explosive firepower. The retreating team was also caught in the crossfire, desperately attempting to escape the approaching herd of walkers, but the constant bombardment of suppressing fire from the Milita rendered them unable to move, and the walking abominations eventually arrived and made of their meals.

The Militia, initially laughing at what they thought was a "junkie uprising", were now puzzled at the feeding mania - the dead, or the "civilians" as they originally presumed, were violently ripping at the flesh of the law enforcement and eating it. Utterly perplexed, they saw it fit to open fire, until their magazines were emptied. This only seemed to attract attention, as the undead abandoned their meals and advanced upon the militia, who retreated to the St. Ignatius Cathedral, desiring security from God against, what they believed to be, minions of Satan.

The walkers promenaded through the streets of Ville Cochon, their advancement only partially hindered by those who discovered that a head trauma was the only deterrence.

* * *

Hours later, a helicopter flew above with two forms, recognizably different in body shape, hanging from the landing skids.

"Jesus, the same thing's happened here..." Cole stated, his eyes skimming over the streets which were littered with overturned burning vehicles, figures that pounced on anything that moved and swamp monsters running free. He noticed the St. Ignatius Cathedral locked up with somewhat noticeable orange figures grouped within its fenced proximity.

"Militia..." Cole muttered in disgruntlement. Up ahead, the Sin Tower was lit up with flares of all colours, and the closing distance revealed people - cops, civilians and rebels, pitching up tents and other facilities that provided. It was a small safe zone, but at least Cochon Ville had one, unlike Flood Town and large sections of the Gas Works, which was now completely infested with the dead and pretty much impossible to reclaim.

"I hope Kuo's gonna make it through this mess." Cole said loud enough for Zeke to hear.

"I hope_ we're _gonna make it through this ride..." Zeke corrected.

"Relax, I've got good hold of your arm, we'll be fine. Quit bitching."

"Oh shit, Cole below us!" Zeke yelled. Cole whipped his head towards said direction, and spotted several acid green projectiles hastily in pursuit of their chopper. If Cole attempted to deflect projectiles with a shock wave, it would no doubt cause him to loose grip on Zeke's arm.

"Laroche!" Cole shouted, receiving no response. "Goddammit - LAROCHE!" he tried once again. He groaned in frustration, tightening his grip on Zeke, when the helicopter began to loose control after it was struck. It uneasily leaned to the left and right, causing Zeke to swing like a pinata and release an uncharacteristic shriek of fear. The distance closed between the chopper and the Sin Tower; Cole would survive the collision, but Zeke would most certainly die from the impact, so Cole let go off his arm which caused him to hit the deck of the tower with a thud, as the helicopter collided with the neon decorated pillar and spiraled uncontrollably, far out of the safe zone, and into the abandoned mansion next to Fort Felipe, sending Cole crashing into the second floor. The chopper embedded itself into the roof, with fire burning from its rotors, creating billows of black smoke. The undead in the area headed towards the point of interest, pounding at the large iron gates until they creaked open, then gathered up like a pack of hungry hyenas, outstretching their arms in a vein attempt to grab at the fresh humans inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN**

**Guest: I completely forgot to respond to your review, I'm sorry - it was late and I was stressing over exams. But anyway - I'm leaving "Special Infected" to things like Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil, and I'm sticking with the universe of the walking dead. It won't be easy for Cole when he has very limited sources of electricity when the power goes out and he still has a fair amount of enemies yet to deal with, and additionally, he still requires one more Blast Core. Thank you for your continued support and patience. **

**To everyone else who is reading, please do me a favour and drop a quick review to provide me with a much-needed confidence boost, thanks.**

Cole emerged from the wreckage and immediately sensed the absence of electricity, inspiring the abominable, and painstakingly familiar feeling of his intense craving for taste of the acidic matter - to feel it surging through his body again. He knew his current storage was near depleted. Gingerly, he detached himself from the dusty floor, his limited, scintillating blue electricity dancing around his arms, illuminating the uninteresting room. He took a step outside through the hole in the wall that he had rammed through, and almost fell headlong into the insatiable crowd of the undead as the wooden platform gave away and collapsed, crushing one in the process. He felt heat radiating from a source above him, and looked to see the burning remain of the chopper.

"Oh shit... Laroche." he said, hastily jumping upwards and dragging himself with his remaining strength onto the roof. He hauled the doors open with all of his might, revealing Laroche, battered, bruised and hyperventilating. Next to him was the pilot, who had a clean gunshot wound through his eye socket.

"Laroche!" Cole called, placing his hand on his face and lightly slapping him to get him out of his trance. "Come on, buddy, I'm getting you out of here." he said, unstrapping him from his seat.

"MacGrath..." he managed to say in a hoarse voice. "You... you can't..." he continued, lifting his left arm with great effort, showing MacGrath a fresh bite mark.

"You'll be fine, I'll take you somewhere safe, get you some help..." Cole tried, ignorant of the situation.

"No... it's... nothing works, Cole. Leave me..." Laroche continued in the same dry whisper.

"I... I don't understand." Cole replied.

"Bites kill you," Laroche responded quickly, draining his remaining energy, "It happened to-to Sara... she t-turned..." he stated. He looked into Cole's eyes pleadingly, then said "Look after the rest of my boys, MacGrath..." before he released his final breath, as the last ounces of his life force was consumed by the infection .

"L-Laroche?" Cole said, shaking his motionless body, then groaned, as he accepted yet another failure on his behalf. He nodded, backing away from the chopper, clenching his fists.

"Alright Laroche." he said. He absorbed whatever electricity was left inside the chopper, before blasting it off the roof with a powerful shock wave into the mob below, who were engulfed by the fiery explosion that followed after the impact. Cole jumped off the roof and dropped to the floor, releasing a powerful shockwave as he hit the ground, sending the undead stumbling to the hard concrete. More of them poured from the streets through the semi-open gates. Cole tossed an orb of electricity into the invading mob, which divided into clusters and exploded, but it backfired, as the iron gates were ripped apart and only provided a wider passage for entry for the horde on the street. Cole growled in exasperation, taking out his amp and smacking it against the skull of the nearest walker. The mob was closing in on him; he blasted most of them backwards with multiple shockwaves, but they simply regained their mobility. He launched a projectile of ice towards the nearest group, enclosing them in large icicles, which acted as buffers. He launched another cluster grenade, taking out only few, as he slashed at the skulls of the stragglers with his amp. His vision blurred, and he almost didn't notice one lunging towards his exposed arm. He obliterated its skull with a powerful magnum bolt, which almost completely drained his last portion of electricity. His vision continued to blur, and the feeling of dizziness intensified. He summoned a tether of lightning towards the building opposite, however, one walker managed to grab hold of his leg. The tether broke and Cole fell onto the unforgiving ground, his movement restricted by deprivation of his precious electricity and subsequent weakness. He managed to produce a weak bolt of electricity to neutralise a walker that was inches away from his leg, but now every last ounce of electricity had been drained. His vision darkened, and all he could hear was the rowdy, moaning herd of the undead approaching his limp form; he could feel himself slipping deeper and deeper into unconsciousness.

His eyes darted open when he sensed a nearing source of electricity within his scope of conscientiousness, beyond the putrescent mob. Above the awful din of the moaning crowd, he heard an engine of a vehicle approaching fast, and then an explosion as a figure from a nearby roof fired to somewhere within the horde. Gunfire erupted from directions which Cole couldn't pinpoint, but the walking corpses flopped to the ground, revealing a truck with a generator within its compartment. It drove on the sidewalk to avoid the roadblock of dead corpses, ramming through various street signage, and stopped next to Cole - he dragged himself towards it, absorbing the generator's delicious electricity, experiencing the most exquisite kind of pleasure. He eagerly pounced on to vehicle, apathetic to whoever the driver, as he watched the horde shamble in pursuit, though their slow movement was no match for that of the truck's, which, in haste, navigated past the war-torn Leo Park - ramparted with broken cars, dead corpses and the remains of pulverized fortifications. The truck sped past St. Charles Cemetery, now existing as merely mounds of rubble and dwindling fires from the torrential bombardment of explosives and finally set ablaze with fuel and napalm, incinerating anyone and anything that happened to be in it. It arrived at the entrance of Fort Felipe, surrounded by vehicles and barricades, and guarded by heavily armed rebels and cops, who Cole was relieved to see. The thick metal gates rose, revealing more forces and stockpiles of containers.

"It's MacGrath!" someone in the fort hollered, and soon followed more cheers of exhilaration. He was greeted by a crowd of weary, downhearted rebels, whose spirits were immediately lifted upon Cole's arrival. The gates slammed shut, and suddenly, the cheers died out as the rebels were reminded that they were caged in by the murderous creatures that lurked in the night.

"Well, done Private." a figure stepped from the crowd, a white-skinned, well-built man that wore a ball-cap, and smoked a cigarette, who Cole assumed to be the leader. "Nice to see you, MacGrath. I'm Jack Harms."

Cole jumped from the truck, stepping towards the man. "Thanks for saving my life."

"Of course. Can't have our only hope die out on us." he replied. Cole nodded, observing the set-up; all of them were armed, but they looked weak.

"How long you been here for?"

"We retreated here after we lost Leo Park. There are thirty-five of our men in this fort, with at least fifty civvies. We lost a lot of good men out there."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"We're just about stocked on ammo, but food supply is short - maybe a couple of days worth left. It's too dangerous to step outside this Fort, and all the teams I've sent out to gather whatever we can haven't returned. Last one I sent was two hours ago."

"There's a good chance they went to the safe zone in Smut Triangle."

"Maybe, but that's a good distance away, and there's no way we can get all of these civilians through without sustaining injury."

Cole paced, evaluating each method that sprang to mind. "It's not ideal, but I have a plan." Cole finally said.


End file.
